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LIFE-LONG SKIERS TRAIN FOR SUCCESSProfile on Training Teams: Chris Tsou-Bright By Emilie Lantelme

Attitude, hard work and starting simple can go a long way – Aspen local Chris Tsou-Bright gives the low-down on training for his Alpine Level 2. Exams are right around the corner, but it’s never too late to start training. EL: Why do you think training is important and how do you take initiative over your own training? CTB: I believe that even though I have been skiing my entire life, I still have a lot to learn about the sport and how I can become a better skier. I try to take it seriously but still try to have fun with it when I am training with my friends. EL:Who are you training with and why have you chosen them/what makes them good training buddies?CTB: My usual training buddies are Paige Nehasil, Nathalie Nevins, and a new friend, Courtney Chilcote. I have known Paige for almost my whole life and I went to school with Nathalie so we always go free skiing with each other and usually do the required training as a group. EL:How often do you guys train and what kind of techniques do you use I.e. how do you train

specifically? CTB: We have been trying to train once or twice a week as of now. We have focused on NASTAR because for Level 2 we are required a silver metal and we thought it would be good for us to practice. Slide slipping, basic parallel turns, and bumps are also a big thing we are working on. We asked each other what we wanted to work on and each of us came up with one thing and helped each other out.EL: What is your favorite part about teaching and how do you hope to improve?CTB: Knowing that I could have just made a kid fall in love with skiing and also that I get to "work" outside with my close friends and ski makes being a ski instructor the perfect job. I am working on finding more games to play with the kids in order to make them learn better. EL: What kind of advice do you recommend to those who are thinking of training for the same thing? CTB: Train a lot and try not to get an ego. The examiners will be extra tough if you come to training and exams with a big attitude. It hasn't happened to me but I have seen some people do that in both and came out with terrible results. EL: Elaborate on anything else you find pertinent

Chris Tsou-Bright practices MA on snow in

cert training. Clearly, we are

killing it!!

ASPEN ACADEMYDecember 21, 2012 Volume 2, Issue 1

Training NewsTraining Manager: Jonathan Ballou

Editor: Kate Howe Asst. Ed.: Emilie Lantelme Submissions, letters and inquiries with subject: EDITOR to

PROFESSIONALISM

Volume 2, Issue 3February 3, 2013

about training and where you think this training will take you as well as what motivates/drives you in doing what you do. CTB:I am going to quote what Andrew Wilson once told me when I was in Portillo this summer with him and his family "skiing is not a mystery, it's a science and an art. Once you grasp the science, which you haven’t yet, you will understand the art of it." Andrew is a close friend and an amazing skier and examiner. He has taught me a lot and will tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.

Trainer Bjorn Sutton and Candidate Chris Tsou-Bright discuss the finer points of Stance and Balance...

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For great results, C.L.A.S.P your clients! by Howard Harrison, inspired by Charlie MacArthurRecently, Howard attended a clinic with Charlie MacArthur, and he was inspired by the great teaching day. Using Mnemonics is a wonderful way to create a mental checklist. Try this one out to make sure you are taking the best care of your guest! Thanks, Howard!

C – Communicate (with) Compassion

L – Location (terrain) & Love

A – Activity & Adventure

S – Safety & Security

P – Professionalism & Passion

As they say with love...........apply where indicated and spread liberally.

SAFETY

Telemark skiing is taking Aspen by storm! With

CMac leading the charge, get out there and find YOUR tele

legs!

Teaching/Technical Professionalism

The new snow has given up a much more enjoyable surface to ski on but our base is still low compared to average and can be very thin, firm, or hollow in places.

Here are a few suggestions to take into consideration when covering PoST throughout training:

• We may have been many working days in a row and may be fatigued. Responsible decision making may be overpowered by excitement of improved condition.

• Punchy nature of soft snow on top of firm conditions can create pressure management issues.

• We have been skiing/riding on hard snow all season; please ensure that they are on appropriate equipment and that they are comfortable in the current conditions.

• When skiing or riding off-piste, particularly in bumps, be aware that the bumps may be hollow despite the new snow.

• Visit the ASC safety site to familiarize yourself with knee safety techniques.

Call for photos and submissions

Aspen Academy Training News needs photos! Send us a picture of you and your buddies getting after it and you could be featured right here! All photo submissions to: aspenacademy@aspensnowmass.com

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It’s how you manage the juice. The kick. It’s how you don’t pee yourself when your ski, which was way over there just a second ago, comes back under you all at once.

Learn the right combination of driving the ski and managing the force as it comes back, and you’ll be moving across your platform and down the hill with those skis arcing under you. Miss this move and you’ll be waving “Hi Mom!” as you get launched.

Let’s start with a full blown retraction turn: What is it? In a retraction turn, the edge change is made while both legs are flexed, short, or pulled up into the body. Learning a retraction turn can feel a bit like patting your head and rubbing your tummy. Extend in the fall line, flex through the end of the turn, stay flexed through the edge change and the top of the next turn, extend into the fall line.

Practice on the groom (don’t tell the bride!) with a friend, do some video, and try one of these coaching cues to help you remember the new pattern: “Change When Down” “Flex to Change” “Flex, Change, Extend”. The key is that the new turn starts while you are still flexed.

Now that you’ve practiced 10,000 retraction turns on the groom, go ahead and experiment with partial retractions, or Topple Turns. When you are

ready to start your new turn, let go of that old outside leg, allowing your body to fall across it and down the hill.

As you let go of the old outside leg, begin to stand against the new one. As the new outside leg lengthens and tips, put some purpose into it. You’ll be surprised how soon you find that new outside edge, allowing you to begin to manage forces earlier in the turn.

Rather than waiting for the juice, you are preparing actively for it, and you’ll find it sooner. Be ready because that ski, now that

it has a good early edge, is going to feel like it’s going away from you and then ZIP, come right back under you all at once.

The feeling is very similar to managing the pressures in bump skiing, but in this instance, it’s force rather than terrain causing the sensation. Hold firm with that ski, staying with the force as it bends under you, then, let go of that outside leg, and get ready to dive across the platform once again. - Kate Howe

Handling the “Juice”When you are working on learning to carve the ski, especially in a short turn, there’s an incredible moment when the ski arcs back under you. That moment feels exhilarating, like driving a Ferrari on rails. But if you don’t manage the forces, it can feel really scary!

When that ski arcs back under you, the force is incredible. Just staying with the ski won’t do it. Its not a matter of having the balls. Its a matter of technique.

Here are a few tips to get you manage that pressure at the bottom of the turn like a pro.

Bend that sucker.

MANAGING PRESSURE

ON SNOW PERFORMANCE

Ron LeMaster calls it the “virtual bump”. Also known as Cross-Under, Retraction, Toppling, Partial retraction... This is the move that lets you keep the whole ski bending and working while the pressure builds and the ski redirects back under you in a dynamic short turn.

Hang on, honey, its gonna be a heck of a ride!

Time to go the other way: WC Women managing forces at the end of the turn.

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Tele Instructor Patrick Fagan spills the beans on why Tele is great for everyone. By Emilie Lantelme

Level III Alpine and Telemark Instructor/ Aspen Snowmass Trainer Patrick Fagan teaches us you don’t have to have thunder thighs to rock the tele look, it’s all about improving all aspects of your skiing and athleticism.

EL: What are some big misconceptions or myths about telemark skiing? How do you counteract these with your students?PF: That you have to do thrusts, squats and have quads of steel to tele ski. Some of the low stances that we see are remnants of the days of less stable equipment—leather boots, skinny skis. Some of it is all about working harder, not smarter. To counteract this, show them a better way. "Look at me. It's possible to stand tall, be overweight and telemark ski well!"EL: What is your favorite part about teaching tele skiing?PF: The people who try it are great students and very willing to try new things. A fall is not a failure, it's a chance to laugh and learn.EL: How does learning telemark skiing help someone become an overall better alpine skier?PF: The telemark boot and binding force you to use your feet more. Your stability depends more on your stance and your body and less on the equipment. In alpine, it's easier to fall into a habit of levering on your boots and skis, to depend on the equipment instead of your body. Take that awareness into your alpine boots and see what happens.EL: What is the most challenging part about teaching tele skiing?PF: Two things. First is physical, because you

can bend the boot, and your range of motion is much greater than in alpine or snowboard. People often think they are moving their feet 12 inches when they're really moving them two. The equipment frees up so much motion and so many options, but we stay stuck.

Second is more social. (In my defense, I have no Telemark bumper stickers on my car!) The cliché and clique of telemarker’s has been exclusive at times, making newer skiers feel unwelcome. Beards are not required, nor are left wing politics or sleeping in snow caves.EL: What is the most rewarding part about teaching tele skiing?PF: Showing people yet another way to fall in love with the mountains.EL: How long have you been teaching it?PF: Dave Holdcraft taught me to telemark in 1993. I bought boots the next day and started teaching the following season.EL: What advice do you give to those who want to train for it or become a tele instructor?PF: Check the browser for clinics (Tuesday mornings at Highlands w Terry Bannon, Wednesday mornings at Snowmass w Charlie MacArthur and/or me). Check the website for locals clinics, either as a student or auditor. At Buttermilk, Ned Ryerson has organized telemark days for Aspen Middle School students in preparation for a class hut trip for many years; another chance to audit and/or teach (February 3rd and 5th, I think). PSIA has a full menu of clinics and exams. Take a lesson, teach friends, laugh with them (and at them).EL: What advice do you want to give about how to obtain clients/clientele?PF: Love what you do.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Using FaceBook professionallyFacebook is a great way to grow your business, stay in touch with family, and get tips on where to go and what to do and see while you are visiting a new place. But how do you use Facebook both personally and professionally?

First, be AWARE! Decide if your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (the three most popular platforms) are for professional use or not. If you are Friends with your colleagues and your clients on these platforms, guess what? The answer is yes.

Does this mean you can’t post your political views? Does this mean you can’t be you on your social media sites? Not at all. But recognize that you are representing yourself, the brand of YOU as a ski pro, and Aspen Skiing Company as a whole when you use social media.

1. Keep the drama to a minimum. Don’t post angry items about your ex, and watch those passive aggressive posts. ie: “I can’t believe that just happened.” (hoping all the posts back will be “OMG, what?” and “Are you ok?”

2. If you do post about politics, try to post interesting opposing views as well, and post from a tolerant perspective, leaving space for others to have their opinion as well.

3. Post from a personal perspective, but try to keep it positive. This doesn’t mean you can’t admit to a bad day, this means to keep in mind that your readers are also clients, and people who may refer clients to you. Show who you are, that’s important. But don’t use your professional page for therapy.

4. Not happy with restraint? Decide your FB page is just for you. Keep an awareness that the content you are posting can affect you professionally. Enjoy yourself online, but keep a purposeful awareness of who is reading your content!

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONALISM

TELE MAN TELLS ALL

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TRAINING CALENDAR

Aspen Academy Training News is a semi-psuedo bi-weekly publication of your training department by and for the pros of Aspen Snowmass.

Our content is only as good as its contributors, please write and tell us what you want to read!

We did this last season, too! To read Volume 1, Issues 1-6, email aspenacademy@aspensnowmass.com and we’ll send you the links!

Submissions, photos, inquiries and letters to the editor with Subject: EDITOR to: aspenacademy@aspensnowmass.com

Jonathan Ballou Kate Howe Emilie Lantelme Training Manager Editor Asst Ed.

Now’s the time! When things slow down between Christmas week and Presidents day, its a great time to get out there and get yourself dialed in. Go on line to register for training and bring

YOUR skills to the next level!

PSIA - AASIAlpine

• Teaching Beginner Bumps: Telluride 1/31/13

• Edwin Terrell Memorial Clinic: Angel Fire 2/6/13

• ITC: Sandia Peak 2/7/13 8am-4pm• ITC: Telluride 2/8/13 8am-4pm• All Mountain Performance: Keystone

2/11/13 8am-4pm• ITC: Keystone 2/11/13 8am-4pm• Teaching Beginner Bumps: Keystone

2/11/13 8am-4pm• Teaching Contemporary Skiing:

Keystone 2/11/13 8am-4pm• ITC: Monarch 2/12/13 8am-4pm• Technical Foundations: Beaver Creek

2/13/13 8am-4pm• ITC: Beaver Creek 2/13/13 8am-4pm• All Mountain Performance: Beaver

Creek 2/14/13 8am-4pm• Precision Skiing 401: Beaver Creek

2/14/13 8am-4pm• Teaching Beginner Bumps: Beaver

Creek 2/14/13 8am-4pm• Teaching Contemporary Skiing:

Beaver Creek 2/14/13 8am-4pm• The Whole of It- Broken Down:

Beaver Creek 2/14/13 8am-4pm Cert 2

• Movement Analysis: Telluride 1/31/13 8am-4pm

• Precision Skiing: Telluride 2/01/13 8am-4pm

• Certification – Teaching Module: Keystone 2/13/13 8am-4pm

• Movement Analysis Indoor: Beaver Creek 2/14/13 8am-4pm

• Precision Skiing: Beaver Creek 2/15/13 8am-4pm

Cert 3• Movement Analysis Indoor: Beaver

Creek 1/14/13 8am-4pm Alpine Freestyle

• Specialist 1: Beaver Creek 2/13/13 8am-4pm

Snowboard• ITC: Winter Park 2/4/13• Technical Foundations: Beaver Creek

2/13/13 8am-4pm Cert 2

• Level 2 Preview: Winter Park 2/4/13• Level 2 Preview: Taos 2/13/13

8am-4pmChildren’s

• CS2: Purgatory 2/6/13 8am-4pm• CS1: Keystone 2/12/13 8am-4pm• Technical Foundations: Beaver Creek

2/13/13 8am-4pm• CS1: Beaver Creek 2/13/13

8am-4pm• CS2: Beaver Creek 2/13/13

8am-4pmTelemark

• Technical Foundations: Beaver Creek 2/13/13 8am-4pm

IN HOUSEAlpine

• Morning Training All Levels – Snowmass 2/6/13 8am-9am

• Morning Training All Levels – Snowmass 2/13/13 8am-9am

Cert 2• Full Day – AH 2/14/13 9am-3pm• MA – Treehouse 2/14/13 4pm-6pm

Cert 3• Full Day – Snowmass 2/14/13

9am-3pm• Full Day – AH 2/15/13 9am-4pm • MA – AH 2/1/13 4-6pm• MA- AH 2/15/13 4-6pm• 3-Day Training Camp – AH 2/6/13

9-5pm

Global• Skiing and Teaching your Way to

Return Business – Snowmass – 2/8/13 9am-3pm

• Lead Pro Skills Training Session – Buttermilk Conference Room – 2/13/13 4:30pm-6:30pm

• Biomechanics- Movement patterns for beginners with Dr. Riggs Klicka- Highlands Conference room - 2/11/13 4:00pm-6pm

• Coaching Sports: Lessons learned from the Olympic Training Center, with Dr. Riggs Klicka - Highlands Conference room - 2/13/13 4:00pm-6pm

• Mental skills for Optimum Performance with Dr. Darwin Linder Treehouse; Snowcubs 4:30pm-5:30pm on the following dates

o 2/13/13, 2/14/13, 2/19/13, 2/20/13

SnowboardCert 2

• Full Day – Snowmass – 2/6/13 9am-3pm

• Full Day – Snowmass 2/7/13 9am-3pm

• Full Day – Snowmass 2/8/13 9am-3pm

Telemark• AM Training – base of gondola

2/4/13 8am-9am• AM Training – base of Exhibition

2/5/13 8am-9am• AM Training – base of VX Lift 2/6/13

8am-9am • AM Training – base of gondola

2/11/13• AM Training – base of Exhibition

2/12/13 8am-9am